Fear Not this Night
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Fear not this night; you will not go astray. Something he fears more than anything else. Losing himself, losing his way. Cloned from the DNA of two men, one living, the other dead, a rogue blond struggles to find his way in a world that's forgotten about him. All he wants to do is eat ramen, prank people, and protect his little sister. Fate has other plans. NarutoxGalatea! Harem?
1. Find Your Fear

**A/N: Yoyoyoyoyoyo! Miss me, guys?! I got this idea from rewatching Justice League, and, something occurred to me. Not too many Naruto crossovers here. Even fewer that're NarutoxHarem and written well. So I took it upon myself to do something about it. Then I wondered how to go about it. Something that hadn't been done before by me, or the behest of my knowledge, others as well. and lets face is Justice League is a veritable font of ideas pertaining to that.**

**The premise, you ask? Someone-Hamilton!-meddles with DNA that he really shouldn't, and in doing so, clones a man long since dead...with a few unique effects. And when that clone teams up with another clone, one of Supergirl...**

**...ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Yes, the pairing will eventually involve Naruto and Galatea. Possibly others. Yes, this follows the events of Justice League and Unlimited in a sense. Yes, all ideas are welcome. Yes, I own nothing. And yes...**

**...this is going to be one hell of a ride. Funny as hell, too! Sorry if its short! And I do want to clarify something. Naruto is very, very, VERY powerful in this. Almost indestructible really. As to how, I won't say, here, you'll have to read the story to find out!**

**Remember, this Naruto is indeed the one we know; he's just a little...different, in some aspects.**

**...enjoy! This chapter is a little sad, derpy, silly, and all around fun, I hope it makes ya'll smile! I happily bring you FEAR NOT THIS NIGHT! Folks were begging for a NarutoxGalatea pairing after my Royal Flush story, so here ya go!**

_"Authority only matters so long as you wield it properly."_

_~?!_

**Mirror**

Doctor Emil Hamilton was on the verge of a miracle.

A marvelous, wonderous, scientific miracle. Some might even call it a breakthrough for humanity itself. This wasn't his first of course; he'd done much work in the service of Cadmus, but in his brillaint mind _this_ far outstripped the goals of the pro-USA activist group whose continued activity was largely sustained by his generous donations. Narcissim aside however, this was more of a personal project. This would be his legacy. He would create the pefect human being, an entity made from both human, and Kryptonian DNA. But in order to do that, he needed a viable test subject. A prototype, if you will.

Amanda Waller had recently provided him with just that.

This precursor to his legacy, the harbinger of the foundation he would build, would not come from his genetic code. Not at all. Gathered from an amber-frozen DNA sample so ancient it made the great city of Metropolis itself look young in comparison, this single cell contained the might of an ancient people long since forgotten. A _Human_ people. It was said that the warriors of this era were gifted with superhuman abilities; powers that would make likely make more than a few heroes today green with envy, nigh but peerless in their affinity for destruction.

Shinobi, they were called.

This sample had been very hard to come by, supposedly it had been buried deep beneath the earth somewhere in Japan, fussed over by an intrepid dig team. Bah! The fools-they had no idea what they'd found-and they had just as easily agreed to surrender this little miracle to him in exchange for an exorbiant sum of cash. It would change the world.

Because for all mankind's technological advancements in the last decade they were seen as almost nothing in the age of heroes and villains. Outdated. Old. Defunct. Oh-on occasion they'd given someone or something a shock; surprise them, even. But there were limits to that technology, to the human body. One could only run so far on two legs, as the saying went. Everyone was always looking for an edge.

Someone always wanted more.

So the heroes jealously guarded their coveted seats, stubbornly refusing to normal folk a place among them. And for a time, he'd been content with that. Lived with it, even. He'd thought Superman was their guardian angel, come down from heaven to answer their prayers. But Lucifer had been an angel once too, hadn't he?

No, what he did now, here, today, was for the good of humanity. Something to protect them against their so-called "heroes" should they ever go rogue.

Someone was needed to "watch the watcher" as the term was being coined. No, in Hamilton's eyes-and the eyes of Cadmus istself-it was left to mankind to protect their own when all else failed. That was what this bold, new organizion stood for. It was the sword of humanity and its shield, dedicated to preserving and protecting their lives in this dangerous time. No more, no less.

Ah, but he digressed.

This would be his crowning achievement, the last of the Shinobi people, restored and reborn in his image. But Hamilton wasn't content to stop there. This hybrid, assuming he survived, would be the first of many. A big brother to their Galatea of sorts, still yet to be created. Fast-tracked and artificially aged, mixed with genes-DNA-from Superman himself...

...and who knew what might be accomplished!

If all else should fail, well, the subject would at the very least, become an accomplished fighter in his service. He was already owed a few favors to Cadmus itself, but it never hurt to keep one's cards close to their chest. The subject's predeccessor had a name, Hamilton recalled, and in a rare fit of irony, he'd decied to let him to keep it. There would be no _fly in the ointment_, as the proverbial saying went. Everything else would procceed according to plan.

The boy's name would be...

* * *

_My name is Naruto._

_I am a clone._

_Also, a monster._

_I've been told this time and time again since my "birth" such as it was; since I tried to kill my creator. I was five years old. Five years old when he first tried to cut me open; five years when I tried to snap his neck like a piece of soggy driftwood. _

_They say I'm to be their perfect being; a union of Kyrptonian and Shinobi. They say that, someday, I'm going to destroy Superman. The Justice League. That I'm going to make the world safe again. I don't believe them anymore. _

_They don't know what I know; I can see all of their thoughts, hear their words before they've even said them. I'm just a weapon to them. They don't care about me. Her. Us. My powers keep evolving. They try to control me, but they can't. They don't understand._

_All I want is to prank a few people, eat a little ramen, and keep my little sister safe. Easier said than done when she's half-as-strong as you and completely, utterly smitten with her "brother" as it is. Sometimes I cannot help but wonder if she's just as broken as I am; I mean, at least I have an EXCUSE considering my DNA. Her? Not so much. Gah, so weird. Looking back, I could've-should have-done things differently. Still, when I stop to think about it..._

_...I wouldn't change it for the world._

* * *

"Again."

The buzzer sounded and a fist snapped forward at Galatea, slamming down at her face with all the force of a falling meteor. Her hand shot up, narrowly catching the wrist; and feeling her fingers fracture from the effort required to restrain him. Grimacing against the pain she scissored her legs, sweeping his feet out beneath him-

-and they collided.

The young clone found herself in something akin to an out-of-body experience as she watched herself get pounded every which way...with almost no effort involved. She felt the pain, felt the force push her body in the decreed direction, but in her shock, she couldn't process any of it, much less counter. A punch to her right cheek was immediately followed by one to her left, which flowed into yet another strike to her stomach, and to that a chop to the now-exposed back of her neck, summarily sending her to her knees only to be blasted backwards by the merciless kick to her face once there.

"What are you doing?!" Waller's voice snapped at her, cracking like a whip. "Focus!"

Galatea yelped, her body instinctively spinning away from one blow, only to land squarely in the path of another. Then...

...blackness.

* * *

"Naruto!"

Sleep-gummed eyes cracked open at the sound of that familiar voice, sapphire orbs blearily taking in the world. The room seemed to swim, as though the entire complex was being tossed amidst stormy ocean currents and about to pitch under at any moment. The boy, all of seventeen years old, solemnly swore to ignore she who was responsible for waking him from his dreamless sleep. Sadly, that was not to be. A flung pillow sailed mercilessly across the room, and while he could under most circumstances, easily dodge such a projectile, he failed to account for the sheer strength with which the deadly fluff had been thrown.

"Oomph!"

End _result,_ the feathery softness of the pillow smacked him right in the face and swatted him right off the bed onto the floor, further incensing the blond and exacerbating the pounding headache in his skull. Waller-that cold bitch whom he refused to call mother-had put him through another hellish regiment of testing only a few hours prior, and this was his only chance to rest. His body ached in places he didn't even know he had, and the agonizing tests against the deadly, hated Kyrptonite was still shooting hot spikes of agony up and down his spine now that he was awake again.

Thankfully there were no visions to haunt him this time, no images of an unknown life to torment his brain with their that made little no sense to him. Nothing to harass him with its sights and its sounds, and all manner of infuriating emotions.

No, there was just _soooooomeone_ who liked pelting others with pillows, apparently!

"Gala," he groaned into the darkness, "Do you have any idea what _time_ it is?"

"That doesn't matter." A soft, annoyed voice replied as he picked himself up off the floor, half-dragging his battered body into bed.. "This is important."

"It. Is. Four. In. The Morning." Naruto ground out as his blue eyes locked with her hazel, emphasizing the last word with a sharp click of his teeth. "How important can this be?!"

A slim body crawled over his, thin legs pinning him in the dark. Naruto blanched.

"Hey what're you-

Slim arms wrapped around his neck, the entirety of her being curling up against him. He though he heard a tiny whimper in the dark, felt a silent shudder shake her shoulders, vibrating into his chest. It didn't take him long to realize she was crying.

When she finally spoke she sounded very small.

"Please...I need your help."

...kay."

She stiffened. "Just like that?"

"What, you don't believe me?"

"Nope. That was way too easy."

"You wound me!"

Feigning dismay, the blond glowered at her, his blue eyes heating to a ramrod red. Twin lances of searing heat shot upwards and into the ceiling, charging the solar-powered light there and providing the small room with some much-needed luminescence by which he could see his white-clad sibling.

Galatea was only ten years of age, but anyone could see said age clearly wasn't reflected in her body. For all her immaturity she possessed the body of a young woman, sixteen years old. Even without the artificial aging you would grow up to be a fine woman someday, most certainly an even deadlier warrior. But at this very moment, she was merely a young teenager taking her first strides into adolescence. Still so young, inching forwards into a life that would someday day shape her into a ruthless killer nearly incapable of caring for anything other than the mission.

That day was not today however, and Naruto found himself all too willing to bury her with her own pillow. Posthumously, of course.

"Gala...

The flaxen-haired girl raised an eyebrow archly, but if he knew female expressions, she was not entirely unafraid. "Do you want to hear this, or not?" There it was again. That oh-so-superior tone she used when she was feeling vulnerable or afraid; acting as if she hadn't just burst into tears against him.

Something he thanked kami he hadn't picked up in the last sixteen years of his existence. He had been 'born' before her, vat grown from and flash cloned from the DNA of some great warrior, and Superman himself. He was supposed to be perfect they said, bu the wasn't perfect. Not even close. Perfection was...an unpleasant thing to think about.

That damned doctor wouldn't say why of course but Naruto had his own suspicions. For starters he knew he was unstable; they were constantly working to tweak him, making him better, faster, harder, stronger. Unlike Gala. Although she wasn't his sister by blood, he considered her the closest thing he had to family. And yet for all their gifts, they couldn't have been more dis-similair. It wasn't just his sheer prowess. It was something different. Something...

_More._

For all his destructive potential, he had access to abilities and techniques most superheroes would balk at. He could walk on walls and water, produce fire with a single breath, bend the very air currents to his will. And those were just his shinobi abilities! There were other gifts, strange, new abilities he alone could wield, gifts that were kept under lock and key by Hamilton and Waller. This infernal collar on his neck saw to that; only aa sample of either's DNA could unlock it. But even if he had been freed from these shackles none of his gifts would've served him now, nor would his strength, as he stared up at Galatea.

"For crying out loud...?"

His words trailed off when he saw the tears in those bright orbs. Her face was tight, almost a rictus of panic, her eyes wide and bright with fear. Terror. Something was wrong, he realized. Something was very wrong. He suddenly realized she was wearing her uniform, that annoying white leotard he liked to tease her about all but wrapped around her still-slender body. Where, had she gotten it, he wondered? They were never allowed to wear their uniforms outside of practice drills.

Had she stolen it back from one of the guards? It looked so out of place on her that he almost laughed. But the steely look in her eyes stopped him and he saw for the first time, the splotch of blood on her cheek. Oh no. _Gods, Gala..._Suddenly the idea of her taking down a guard didn't seem so ludicrous without restraints. But why, oh why would there be blood...?

"I'm leaving." she stepped forward and, before he could protest, grabbed the shackle that was his collar. Then she gave a yank. Hard. The device ripped open with a sharp keen of sundered promethium, falling away to clatter to the floor. He swiftly kicked it away, sending the device skittering under the bed.

Ah. That was it. Strength came surging back to him, his weary limbs tingling with a sudden anxiety that all but pushed the weariness to the back of his mind. He was standing almost before he realized it, his body numb with the realization that something awful had happened. He clasped her by the shoulders, suddenly aware of her own trembling.

"What did you do?" he whispered.

"I did w-w-what I had to," she hiccuped once before forcing her voice back under control. "I overhead one of the guards talking. Daddy_-Hamilton,"_ she choked, her words breaking once more with emotion, "Wants to kill you." In the belated silence that followed, Naruto felt the world drop out from beneath his feet. He fell, dropping into an icy lake of cool numbness, feeling nothing.

Idly, somewhere, in the back of his mind, he realized Galatea was still speaking.

"They say you're not like me. You're not good enough, not anymore. They were going to...scrap you. Kill you. Start over again." Her hand strayed to his, as though she could somehow draw strength from the warmth of his fingers. Those bright blue eyes rooted him, held him fast in her presence. "I...just couldn't let them do that. So before they could hurt you, I-I...hurt them." The words seemed to twist at her, warping her visage into a pained, determined rictus. "I won't let him do that to you. _Us."_ she amended the last with a slight flush, her cheeks burning ever so lightly at the end. "So...

...come with me."

Her words took him out of that frozen lake and threw him into the sun. Naruto stubbornly swept this sudden surge of feelings under the rug, acknowledging but refusing to speak of them. Now was not the time for such things. Instead, he returned his attention to her as she tugged on one of his long sleeves, small fingers clenching around the orange fabric of his shirt.

"Are you sure? You can't be certain-

"I'm more than certain!" her voice rose, piquing in distress. "You know we're not the first! We're just the first ones they _kept!"_

"That doesn't change the fact that we're...I don't know! Doing...this!" Realizing he was shouting, the blond drew inward on himself, contemplating. Galatea's rebellion had already begun, once they discovered she'd attacked one of the guards and unshackled him, her punishment was likely to be severe. And truth be told, Naruto was growing tired of his captivity. He wanted to see the world. Go to the beach. Maybe paint a few towns orange, enjoy some ramen.

Discover where a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto had come from and find his place in this strange new world. He couldn't accomplish any of that here.

"If we're going to do this, we'll do it my way."

Galatea went from taking a full step back from his fury, to standing firm with her face white and still, fists clenched at her sides. She felt like he was trying to melt her alive with his gleaming silver-blue eyes. There was an apprehensive moment when he wasn't sure what she would do - she looked torn between attacking him, running, or crying. At last, she nodded tightly.

"A-Alright. But where should we_-eep!"_

He words trailed into an explosive yelp as his fist cracked out, sundering the nearby wall. The result was immediate was it was breathtaking. Alarms wailed, keening obnoxiously, klaxons resounded, the sound of a dozen booted feet even now rushing towards their position. Naruto ignored the chaos, stepping over the ruined debris that had once been the eastern wall of his room and marching out into the hall. In the end Gala was left to trail after him, hurrying after the bulk of the boy she called brother.

By the time she reached him, he was already fighting.

Guns barked, the sharp staccato of angry bullets filling the hall, to no avail. Naruto attacked and the men folded like a house of cards. He was an orange and black streak amongst them, a blur; a monster, a creature of slaughter, uninhibited by petty morality.

And it was glorious.

His fist thundered into the first man's face, tearing it clean off his shoulders in a spray of bloody viscera. A shrieking sphere_ -what had he called it...ah! Rasenshuriken!-_ flew from his hand to mow down another squad in their tracks, detonating and ripping still more to gory pieces as it burst down the halls. Another found their fellows, tearing _them _to little red chunks as well.

He exhaled mightily a cone of cold freezing three more squads solid, their rigid bodies shattered by another searing blast of his heat vision. Galatea didn't have time to leap into the fray; by the time it occurred to her it -the situation-was already well in hand and the last of them were dead.

"Well," Naruto grinned, scrubbing his face with the back of a hand, "That was cathartic."

Galatea could barely find the words. Elation and disbelief, and just a touch of desire warred within her, neither claiming victory.

"You...you killed them."

"Yup."

Her gaze roamed the bloody hall, full of broken, bloody bodies. "A-All of them..."

"Yuuuuuuuup." his head bobbed.

A grin blossomed on her face.

...I think you deserve a reward, big brother."

"Once again, yuuuuuu-wha?"

His words died into hopeless sputtery as she leaned forward on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. The atomic flush that followed was absolutely adorable. Gala grinned. Let him insist that they were nothing more than siblings when they really weren't. It only made chasing after him that much sweeter.

"Alright...yeah. That happened. Moving on!"

Even as she proccessed those words he was already moving again, smashing down one wall, then yet another wall and another, and _another_, tearing through any and all obstacles in their path. One last squad dared to challenge them; their deadly kryptonite bullets effortlessly evaded, their bodies brutally broken. More walls were broken, labs sundered, until finally, finally, FINALLY...

_Light._

Galatea almost couldn't believe it when she stepped out of another Naruto-shaped hole and found herself standing outside. The cool night air greeted her face like a long lost friend, a stray breeze plucking at her short hair and tickling her nose. She took a moment to savor it, this sense of freedom, then she started walking-

"Uh, what're you doing?"

Her eyes snapped up, cheeks heating as she realized Naruto was hovering over her. Literally. Hovering.

"You do know we can fly, right?"

Slowly but surely, she felt her cheeks begin to burn, a hot flush crawling up the back of her neck.

"Sh-Shut up!"

"Haha! You should see your face! Priceless!"

"I know how to fly in case you've forgotten!" she cried, desperately trying to salvage the situation.

"Then, what're you waiting for?" He swung around her and offered her his hand, "You wanted to leave, didn't you? Let's go. I hear Central City is nice this time of year."

Galatea didn't know what to say to that, so, she simply followed, slowly flying up, up and away after him. His response, his intense reactions, had been...unexpected. She simply hadn't expected his support. Waller and Hamilton had savagely berated each of her mistakes, both real and perceived; endlessly accusing her of sloth, idiocy, sloppiness, anything whatever they could seize upon. When she had done everything to perfect precision and nothing could be found wanting with her, they simply said nothing at all.

Naruto had only ever offered her encouragement; he understood the pressure to be perfect and he was not cowed by it. He didn't care what her _father_ thought of him, he was too valuable to be disposed of at least until another sample was procured; the first had been all but exhausted in creating him. He was the first, and he was the last of a proud people, reborn in this new form. But most of all...

That thought ended as the kryptonite bullet took her from behind.

"Wha-?!"

The effect was painful and immediate as the round pierced her stomach; all her strength drained away to nothingness. Her body plummeted, sinking like a stone. Naruto spun about, only to suffer a round through one of his arms, then his shoulder, his leg. His roar of surprise/pain filled her ears, as did the cry that came as he dug the draining projectiles out. Right, he possessed a slight resistance to Kryptonite, so he might survive. She knew she might not be so fortunate.

_Ground._

The breath burst from her lungs as she slammed into the unyielding concrete desert, and then all she knew was pain. And over that pain, a furious roar, like an animal uncaged:

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"

Hands were laid on her, orders shouted. The sound of rifles being cocked. More explosions.

Through bleary eyes, Galatea saw him up there, hesitating, torn between fight and flight...and she knew what had to be done. Wounded. Her heart was wounded by grief, just as much as Naruto's body was wounded by the remnants of krytpon lingering in his system. He'd just get himself captured, or worse, if he tried to fight now. She knew that. It made sense. But losing him...that hurt more than death itself.

"Go!"

Tears gleaming in his eyes he did as she asked. The air rupturing around him with all of his fading might, he took flight, soaring up and away. Fading way into the distance. Growing smaller and smaller_...larger?_ Galatea froze where she lay. Took an agonizing breath, struggling to see through bleary eyes. Her heart lurched. No. He couldn't.

He wouldn't!

But he was, that distant speck swelling before her eyes, his body ou

_No!_

**"YOU DONE GOOFED!"**

A thunderclap answered her as the kryptonian hybrid cannoned down into the desert with all the force of a nuclear warhead, his return heralded by a cataclysmic crash of thunder. Bones broke. Men and women bled and died. Hands were shorn away from her shoulders and suddenly she was free toppling to the ground with a grunt. Pleas of mercy followed, falling on deaf ears. Then silence. Agonizing silence.

Everything was moving so slowly and she couldn't make sense of it. Now she was being lifted, cradled against his chest, held.

"It'll be okay." A strange, disjointed voice told her. "Just hold on. "It'll be okay...

Snarling, her broken body in his arms, he _fled._

**A/N: And there we go! Naruto's out there in the world, wreaking all kinds of havoc! I really feel sorry for Cadmus in this; most because our dear blond is not only slightly unhinged, but he's got an entire world of power to achieve his means now...and the means by which to take the fight to the organization that created him. Think he and Gala should join the League? Oh, wouldn't that cause chaos...**

**So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! Hopefully it'll make up for the sad, sad ending of this chapter, maybe even make you smile. And yes, I'm going with the new design for Wonder Woman in Justice League, Throne of Atlantis. That one truly amuses me so, both personality and otherwise.**

**(Preview!)**

_Diana stared at the boy beneath her and wondered at him._

_He was strange this one; she'd fought side by wide with him, watched him lay waste to nearly a dozen armed and armored men without batting an eye; without breaking a sweat. Truly, he'd dispatched them with ease born of one of the Gods themselves. His skills put even Superman to shame!_

_Yet now it was as if he were a completely different person. The youth stood there, perched upon the rooftop; a lost puppy desperately searching for it owner. The sight caused her to dither, made her think. For each an' every second that past, her heart hurt to look at him. Hera, it wrenched!_

_By the Gods..._

_ Never one to leave a lost soul in need, she descended after him. Those eerie eyes saw her straight away, but they didn't recognize her until she'd finally alighted beside her. His body shifted slightly, those tattered black jeans shuffling as he shifted to keep her in his line of sight. Diana felt her respect for the newcomer climb another notch._

_"What troubles you, warrior?"_

_Sad, lonely blue eyes met hers._

_"Can you help me?"_

_Incredibly, the Amazon found herself nodding._

_"Yes, I think I can."_

**R&amp;R! =D**


	2. Code

**A/N: LONG LIVE THE YEAR OF THE REQUEST! ALSO! Just saw Suicide Squad. And its given me IDEAS. Ideas a plenty...**

** Yoyoyoyoyoyo! Miss me, guys?! I got this idea from rewatching Justice League, and, something occurred to me. Not too many Naruto crossovers here. Even fewer that're NarutoxHarem and written well. So I took it upon myself to do something about it. Then I wondered how to go about it. Something that hadn't been done before by me, or the behest of my knowledge, others as well. and lets face is Justice League is a veritable font of ideas pertaining to that.**

**The premise, you ask? Someone-Hamilton!-meddles with DNA that he really shouldn't, and in doing so, clones a man long since dead...with disastrous results. And when that clone teams up with ANOTHER clone, one of Supergirl...**

**...ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Yes, the pairing will eventually involve Naruto and Galatea. Possibly others. Yes, this follows the events of Justice League and Unlimited in a sense. Yes, all ideas are welcome. Yes, I own nothing. And yes...**

**...this is going to be one hell of a ride. Funny as hell, too! Sorry if its short! And I do want to clarify something. Naruto is very, very, VERY powerful in this. Almost indestructible really. As to how, I won't say, here, you'll have to read the story to find out!**

**Remember, this Naruto is indeed the one we know; he's just a little...different, in some aspects.**

**...enjoy! This chapter is a little sad, derpy, silly, and all around fun, I hope it makes ya'll smile! I happily bring you FEAR NOT THIS NIGHT! Folks were begging for a NarutoxGalatea pairing after my Royal Flush story, so here ya go!**

_"Authority only matters so long as you wield it properly."_

_~?!_

**Code**

Naruto and Galatea's escape ripped Cadmus's facility open like a wet paper bag and scattered it to the winds.

Battered but not beaten, the survivors-few that they were-were left behind to pick up those pieces.

Doctor Emil Hamilton was one of those survivors.

By mercy or fate, or some sordid twist of irony, he'd made it through the night. Now, he was hard at work taking task of the destruction his "children" had wrought In hindsight, it was nothing short of a miracle that he was even able to document anything at all. He'd gotten off easy when Galatea hurled him through that wall. By contrast his injuries were relatively minor when compared to those of his colleagues. In short-a miracle. His mind had no qualms about what might have happened were he to encounter_ Naruto._

A broken arm would be the least of his worries.

Especially when one considered who he was about to meet.

The guards on either arm refused to so much as speak to him, silent as the grave. Which wasn't all that surprising once Emil realized how monumentally _fucked _he was. There was no way out for him now, not after this, not anymore. He'd created two volatile children, watched as they grew into teenagers, developed countermeasures for every possible situation...and when the time came, what had he done? He'd let them escape. While he couldn't be charged with aiding and abetting America's enemies, he certainly hadn't tried to _stop_ them. Far from it.

By the time of their escape, he'd genuinely _wanted _them to leave.

He'd sparked the situation by suggesting Naruto might need to be put down-to end his tormented life-but Galatea had taken that out of context. As he'd planned. He knew his "daughter" knew precisely how she would react, knew that Naruto would follow her to the ends of the earth.

And now they had this shitstorm on their hands.

All part of the plan.

His escorts likely didn't want to risk the wrath of their employer by speaking to him. Waller would have him executed for this, assuming she was even alive after the chaos on site. Wait. If she was dead then that meant the next in command was _Eiling_, and he was even more of a rabid xenophobic than her.

Shit.

Well, he supposed a quick death would be preferable to being drawn and quartered...

At length they passed to a sundered wall, and the frozen remains of what had once been a squad of Cadmus troops. Despite his impending demise, Emil felt a bit of his dread creep away at the sight of the masterpiece. Ah, but the tundra _itself_ stretched well beyond anything he'd expected anyone to produce!

"Fascinating." he murmured aloud, tracing the line of ice with the fingers of his good hand. "He's become able to sustain the elements far longer than I suspected." That said ice continue to persist despite all attempts to eradicate it only served to further validate this theory. The guards wrestled him away before he could continue his observations, and the doctor's mind drew inward, losing track of his surroundings.

Was it wrong that he felt a flicker of pride for the boy?

It was the pride a father might feel for his own child, and the ferocity of it stunned him. Galatea had always met their standards but he'd deemed Naruto a failure long ago. Now, to witness something like this firsthand was almost enough to make him reconsider. The boy had been attacked. The base's defenders'd thrown everything at him and he'd defended himself viciously, in turn. Mercilessly. They were _still _scraping the stains off the walls and ceiling. He knew how to survive, carving through whomever would stand in his way. He'd keep Gala safe, surely.

Perhaps they deserved this.

He saw now that they'd been wrong to play god; wrong to create life-children!-and turn them into weapons. They'd treated them like animals. Why should it be any surprise that they'd turned on them? Their only loyalty was to one another. They cared for each other-Gala more than most. He secretly suspected she might even love her "brother" as well. He'd seen the way she wandered after the blond like a silly, lovesick puppy, felt the adoration in her eyes, watched her perk up whenever he mentioned his name.

What would a child of theirs be like, he wondered?

Would he or she be born into a world free from Cadmus?

Or would they simple become another footnote of this wretched organization.

Hamilton liked to think there might be hope for them yet, if only he, they, could somehow-

"You should've trained your pets better, Hamilton."

Emil froze, suddenly realizing where he was.

Waller's situation room.

Something of a private bunker _beneath_ a bunker, build to withstand everything short of the apocalypse itself, it contained something of a small armory weapons for every situation. Furnished with dozens of monitors and a long table for Amanda and her advisers it was an impenetrable fortress. And of course his employer awaited him at the end of that table, utterly unfazed by the chaos raging around her. Emil deflated slightly at the sight of the imposing woman. He supposed this was reality's way of slapping him in the face; it was too much to hope that she might have perished after all. Waller didn't accept excuses. She never had. She was hard woman, an unforgiving woman, but here, in what he suspected where his final moments, a spark defiance sprang to life in his chest.

"They aren't pets."

"No," she conceded. "I suppose you're right. They're rabid animals. And now they'll be put down."

It took all Hamilton had not to start shouting. No! She couldn't! She wouldn't!

"I'm activating Task Force X." she remarked absently. "They'll bring them in."

"Those psychopaths?"

"Its either them or Doomsday." came the callous reply. "Would rather I sicced that monster on them?"

"You're mad!"

Dark eyes bored into him until he yielded. "Doctor. How many doses did you give Naruto?"

Hamilton nearly laughed outright.

Naruto's body was incredibly powerful, but it was also unstable. He needed concentrated doses of a rare chemical to preserve its integrity, to keep his rapidly-multiplying cells from raging out of control. Emil had always been fastidious in the dosage...

...until recently.

"Only one. Just last week." A lie, of course. He'd dosed the blond rather heavily just before his escape. He'd go into withdrawal, certainly, but his body should-in theory-sustain itself for closer to half a year. With luck he might survive that agonizing withdrawal and no longer require anymore of the drugs.

Definitely.

Possibly.

Maybe?

"Good." Waller nodded grimly. "Without those doses, I give him a week before he starts breaking down. A month at most."

Emil bit down on the urge to smile with all his might.

"Meaning?"

Amanda offered a cold smile.

...he'll come to us. Whether he wants to or not. You, however...

The doctor saw her hand dip to the holster at her waist. Saw it rise, pistol in hand.

"I'm afraid I'll have to tender your resignation." a pause followed. "Any last words?"

Ah, and there it was.

Soft, gentle laughter permeated the air. The laugh of a dead man, resigned to his fate, the quiet sigh of a father taken before his time.

"You'll never catch them, you know." here, now, in his last moments, Hamilton permitted himself the release he sought at last. "They know better than to trust you-to trust anyone, really. I taught them too well."

"We'll see."

By retrospect, he should have expected something like this. But despite the gun in his face, despite the wild, frantic pounding of his heart, Emil Hamilton couldn't bring himself to feel fear. He was calm. At peace. Naruto and Galatea were free and clear, forever out of Cadmus's grasp. They would not be caught. They would not be tamed. His children would live. They would survive. They would thrive. He'd taught them that much at least in his own bumbling way. Let them think him a monster. A madman. A cruel, heartless scientist who cared only for humanity.

Had to be him.

Somebody had to be the one to hold the torch, to be that first spark in the dark.

Someone else...well, someone else would have gotten it wrong.

In the end, Emil went to his death with a smile.

* * *

_(Meanwhile, with Naruto...)_

* * *

Funny thing about flying.

It isn't anywhere near as easy as it looks.

Just ask a certain blond.

"Shit! Crap! Piss!" these words and more filled the skies as he hurtled toward Central City. "Why is this so hard?!"

Jerking and sputtering, fighting and flailing to remain aloft, he found that it was all he could do to keep his momentum level, much less avoid crashing into a building! How in the hell did Galatea make this look so damn easy, oi?!

Resistance to kryptonite was one thing.

Naruto's DNA had always been a bit of a mixed basket when it came to his abilities-being a hybrid came with incredible gifts and terrible drawbacks. He'd known this since his "birth", as it were, years before Galatea. He was a prototype. The reject, a weapon meant to feel nothing beyond unthinking rage. Complete, yet incomplete at the same time. Hamilton had called Galatea lucky. He'd said _he _was lucky to be born. A fake. Fraud. He was a copy of a copy, some ancient genetic code spliced together with Kryptonian genes and given sentience.

What had Waller said?

_You were meant to be perfect. Instead, you're a perfect failure._

Possessed of near matchless power and dauntless endurance, he nevertheless suffered the inevitable cost of control when it came to finesse. Simply put, he lacked the ability to hold back. In battle, he blew through his enemies, his adversaries, anything set in his way. Moreso when he was angry. Restraint had never been one of his strong suits to begin with. Be it in combat or otherwise. His body was a razor's edge-a honed weapon-ever ready and alert for the slightest change in himself or his environment. Every cell held a life of its own, acting in unison with one another. In short, it made him damn hard to kill.

He'd learned that lesson the hard way when the techies first tried drilling a bomb in his neck.

Growing back most of your _brain_ and your head would've proven a nigh impossible task even for him. Thankfully however, he'd never had to test that. His body reacted to the invasive explosive-as well as the hand who dared to drill it into his neck-with extreme prejudice. Waves of red chakra had poured forth from the wound, obliterating the bomb and the unlucky tech holding the drill.

They hadn't tried since.

So, yes, when it came to abilities, he'd gotten rather lucky in that regard. His hybrid DNA afforded him many gifts.

This of course, included flight.

He could break the sound barrier with ease. Clear tall buildings in a single bound. Cross the globe in less than a minute if he really pushed himself. There was just one problem.

He'd never quite mastered how to stop.

Not without crashing, at any rate.

Control was, well...

_Problematic._

Add to that the prone girl in his arms and things became _very_ problematic indeed. Especially when he found himself hurtling towards a skyscraper at top speed! With no knowledge of how to stop, and only the ability to accelerate at his disposal! At the last second he turned his body, desperately trying to shield Galatea's shivering from from the impact. The towering building loomed large before him, growing with each passing second. Swelling in his vision like a black obelisk.

Too much momentum.

Not enough time to brace!

"Shit shit shit SHIT!"

WHAM!

With an earth-shuddering crash the speedy blond slammed into, then THROUGH the skyscraper, splintering the building as though it were made of matchsticks. All the while shedding glass and metal like an old cloak. For a fleeting instant he hung aloft, hissing softly as his body worked overtime, clocking itself madly to repair the damage he'd sustained. Then gravity-and exhaustion-laid their claims on him and he sank like a stone.

_"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck meeeeeeeeeeeee~!"_

The fall was nothing short of spectacular, if only for the crater it left behind.

The street itself literally exploded from the force of super-powered blond meeting asphalt; the resultant blast atomizing everyone unlucky to be standing nearby. Water mains burst as one, pipes jutted out of the street to impale the nearby buildings in grisly relief.

Huh.

Naruto lay there for a moment, blinking.

That actually...

...hurt.

Barely remembering to check on Galatea, he forced himself into a sitting position. Sure enough she still drew breath, her chest rising and falling in short, shallow gasps. Good. She was alive, then. If she'd perished in the fall he'd never forgive himself.

_'Having fun, are we?'_

Naruto started violently and looked up.

He was looking at himself. Older. Different.

For a fleeting instant he nearly started, until he recognized the dread specter staring back at him. A hallucination, unwanted at that. One that often popped up as a not-so-subtle reminder that he was slipping again. He wasn't rightly sure if this "ghost" had something to do with his DNA, if the voices of a dynasty long past were speaking to him, or he were simply going mad. Regardless, he didn't have the time nor the patience to sheer of a piece of himself to ignoring thise apparition.

"Go away. I don't...have time for you right now!"

_'You have plenty of time.'_ his facsimile beamed. _'After all, I'm in your head, remember, kid?'_

"Oh, you have got to be kidding-

_'You're not taking the doses. Whatever would the doc say? Ooh! Truck!'_

**WONK!**

The loud blare of a horn reminded him that Naruto was still laying half-dead in the street.

Its honk became a dull squeak as he thrust an arm out reached out and braced his feet against the ruined street, an open hand greeting the onrushing flatbed like preventing the flatbed from flattening him. Momentum met an impenetrable defense and the oil tanker buckled, its crushed carcass arcing overhead to crash into a nearby building. He realized his mistake a heartbeat later.

_Shiiiiiit._

Naruto's only warning came in the sour scent of gasoline reaching his nose and then the explosion hit all at once; consuming the tanker in fiery waves of napalm, a roaring blast surging forward at him and Galatea in a rising wave of fiery destruction. Slamming a hand down against the broken asphalt, he ripped a hulking chunk of the road free, raising it as an impromptu shield a heartbeat later. It was over in the blink of an eye, fire met earth and earth stood strong, cracking against-but not splintering-as the shockwave ripped past.

Civilians-those precious far away from the initial explosions to survive-screamed and fled from burning buildings and vehicles alike, clamoring out of their cars, desperate just to get away from this menace. Naruto didn't blame them. Had he the strength, he would've put out the fire, but he was too weak, too exhausted. A dusty breeze picked up the ashes and stung at his eyes, the grit flapping harshly against his skin.

When the police finally arrived, he was still sitting there. A thought summoned the cloak, flinging hit over himself and Galatea. Bullets pinged harmlessly of his exposed visage; stitching angrily, ineffectually against the torn lines of his clothes and the shimmering red lines lines of his chakra. An eye twitched, those cold blue orbs swiveling upon the unfortunate officers.

"I'll say this once. Stop."

Their response?

Bullets.

Sapphire orbs flashed scarlet, and they fired anew. Naruto fired back, twin lances of heat firing from his vision to strike the nearest officer. Ashes fluttered away in the breeze.

With this, finally, he stumbled to his feet, placing himself firmly between the shots and the dying girl beside him.

There were people here, but not like the scientists of Cadmus.

Of course, no one was like them. These shot first without asking questions, these deemed him a monster merely for defending himself. They always told _Galatea_ that she was special, that she had a gift, a purpose. But that hadn't stopped him, had it? In the end, people were the same. Good or evil, black or white, they always deemed him a monster. And maybe he was. Indestructible, blessed with powers of flight and an unbelievable speed, regeneration he didn't truly understand. But he did understand this.

They were shooting at him. At Gala. Trying to kill him. Her. Them.

That made these men their enemies, not allies. And enemies...

A stray shot skittered a touch too close to Galatea, then.

Something snapped.

Naruto hissed.

"You're making me angry." he snarled, jerking his head to the side; producing a loud crack. "I hope that's what you wanted."

Then he flew at them.

**A/N: And there we go! Naruto's out there in the world, wreaking all kinds of havoc! I really feel sorry for Cadmus in this; most because our dear blond is not only slightly unhinged, but he's got an entire world of power to achieve his means now...and the means by which to take the fight to the organization that created him. Think he and Gala should join the League? Oh, wouldn't that cause chaos...**

**So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! Hopefully it'll make up for the sad, sad ending of this chapter, maybe even make you smile. And yes, I'm going with the new design for Wonder Woman in Justice League, Throne of Atlantis. That one truly amuses me so, both personality and otherwise.**

**(Previews!) Try and guess what happened! Also, can anyone say SUICIDE SQUAD?!**

_Diana stared at the boy beneath her and wondered at him._

_He was strange this one; she'd fought side by wide with him, watched him lay waste to nearly a dozen armed and armored men without batting an eye; without breaking a sweat. Truly, he'd dispatched them with ease born of one of the Gods themselves. His skills put even Superman to shame!_

_Yet now it was as if he were a completely different person. The youth stood there, perched upon the rooftop; a lost puppy desperately searching for its owner. The sight caused her to dither, made her think. For each an' every second that past, her heart hurt to look at him. Hera, it wrenched!_

_By the Gods..._

_Never one to leave a lost soul in need, she descended after him. Those eerie eyes saw her straight away, but they didn't recognize her until she'd finally alighted beside her. His body shifted slightly, those tattered black jeans shuffling as he shifted to keep her in his line of sight. Diana felt her respect for the newcomer climb another notch._

_"What troubles you, warrior?"_

_Sad, lonely blue eyes met hers._

_"Can you help me?"_

_Incredibly, the Amazon found herself nodding._

_"Yes, I think I can."_

* * *

_Deadshot took one look at the footage and shook his head._

_...fuck this shit I'm out."_

_Waller fought to maintain her stoic expression._

_"What did you just say?"_

_"Naw," he said slowly, "Ya'll can just shoot me. I'm not dealing with this shit."_

_"Deadshot, you WILL do as you're told-_

_"I said I ain't doing it." the sharpshooter replied. "Go ahead. Blow my head off. See that?" he indicating the looping footage with a hand, "He just turned that guy to paste. By LOOKING at him. Get your little witch and the rest of your "Suicide Squad" to kill him and his girl. I'm not going anywhere NEAR 'em."_

* * *

_Lex Luthor snarled, spitting in surprise as the penthouse window imploded at his back._

_"What the devil?!"_

_Shielding his face from the glass with an arm, the billionare balked._

_At first he thought it was Superman-but no, the hair was all wrong. So was the build. His body was smaller than the Man of Steel's too; sleek and slim where the alien had always been bulky. Oh, he had the cape but the outfit was all black and red and orange._

_"Lex Luthor?"_

_"Charmed, I'm sure." Lex frowned. "And you are?"_

_Blue eyes burned red._

_"Your executioner."_

_Its the last thing he hears before his world is bathed in blue flames._

**R&amp;R! =D**


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